Allergy and desensitization, how is it going?

Pollen, crustaceans, peanuts, mites. The list of allergens is unfortunately long. And to escape unpleasant reactions to the minimum, there are not many solutions. Avoidance is one. Desensitization is another.

The nose itchy and runny. The eyes red. Sneezing. In certain circumstances, allergies can actually poison life. In spring or when you are in contact with animals or dust. In these cases in particular, it is sometimes difficult to put in place an allergen avoidance strategy. So to fight against these symptoms at least unpleasant, there are so-called medicines antihistamines.

But the desensitization – still called immunotherapy specific – is the only treatment to date to really get rid of allergies. This technique is today recognized and codified by an international consensus, established by experts under the aegis of the World Health Organization (WHO). And only an allergist can practice a immunotherapy specific.

Its principle? Minimize the organism's sensitivity to allergen given, by gradually modulating the immune response vis-à-vis the latter. Because remember, allergies occur when our immune system reacts inappropriately in the presence of a given substance.

An effective, but long-term treatment

The treatment therefore consists in administering increasing doses – infinitesimal at the start – of the allergen concerned, in order to educate in a way, our immune system and prevent its abnormal reactions. It is administered either subcutaneously – once a week in the office of an allergist – using a very short needle syringe, or sublingually – at health home, every morning, on an empty stomach per day. through a stamp or drops allergen solution. After a so-called initial phase, there comes a maintenance phase during which the maximum dose tolerated by the person is administered at regular intervals.

Specific immunotherapy can be offered from the age of 5 years. But of course it assumes that the responsible allergen has been clearly identified beforehand and that the foreclosure measures classics have been adopted. A process which again cannot do without the help of an allergist.

Finally, note that the desensitization to an allergy requires patience, as it must be spread over a period of 3 to 5 years. Nevertheless, the patient will feel real benefits from the first year. And this treatment has proven its worth, particularly with regard to wasp venoms and bees or allergies to animals but also the pneumallergens that are dust mites or pollens from grasses, herbaceous ortrees.

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